International Dignitaries Gather for Major Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts Exhibit & Symposium

As part of a discussion on September 7, a distinguished panel will tackle tough questions at the heart of the trauma of war and the power of art to heal.

August 24, 2018

Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (Lyme) of the University of New Haven is hosting Cities of Peace Exhibition now through September 7 in the Chauncey Stillman Gallery, 84 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Gallery is closed on Sundays. Parking and Admission to the exhibition are free. In association with the exhibition, there will be a symposium on arts role in cultural diplomacy on September 7 at 5 p.m.

Cities of Peace and Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts are excited to announce a special symposium at the close of the exhibition. In addition to the world premiere of the painting completed in Yerevan, Armenia in 2015, To Know Wisdom, an esteemed panel of experts has been assembled to present a symposium on Art as Cultural Diplomacy: The Prevention of Genocide and Culturacide which will take place on Friday, September 7 at 5 p.m. in the Chauncey Stillman Gallery. Prior to the panel discussion there will be a special welcome reception for Mher Margaryan, the newly appointed Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations at 4 p.m. Ambassador Margaryan will meet and greet as well as share some thoughts on the Cities of Peace painting, To Know Wisdom.

The full panel discussion will convene at 5 p.m. moderated by Fred Mandell, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Global Institute for the Arts and Leadership and founding principal of the Kalon Leadership Group, LLC. Additional panelists are Ellen Frank, visionary founder of the Illumination Arts Foundation and Cities of Peace; Jeffrey B. Spurr, Islamic and Middle East Specialist-Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture Documentation Center at Harvard University (retired); Jenean Partridge Paschalidis, Senior Manager, Enterprise Risk Management for UNICEF; Erica Haskell, Assistant Professor and Chair of Music Department at University of New Haven. Seating is limited, and tickets are required.

The symposium is supported through a grant from the CT Humanities Fund.

Cities of Peace is a living monument of cultural landscapes and heritage preservation that features a series of large-scale gold-leaf paintings honoring the history and culture of world cities that have experienced major conflict and trauma. The paintings encourage viewers to acknowledge the grandeur of humankind’s creative powers, and the triumph of hope over the forces of darkness and entropy. It is the mission of Cities of Peace to inspire those who see these works of art to act to protect critical urban centers throughout the world and issues a global call to recognize the important role cities play in sustaining what is creative and hopeful in civilization. To date Cities of Peace works include Baghdad, Beijing, Hiroshima, Jerusalem, Kabul, Lhasa, Monrovia, New York, Sarajevo, Yerevan, and most recently Pristina. Planning is underway for additional projects in Auschwitz and Tbilisi.

The exhibition at Lyme includes eight of these artworks and boasts the world premiere of the painting from Yerevan, Armenia, To Know Wisdom. This piece was done in 2015 in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Holocaust and to celebrate the resilience and creativity of the Armenian people. Until arriving in the United States for this exhibition, To Know Wisdom had been on display in the National Gallery of Armenia. The additional pieces featured in the LACFA exhibition are: Baghdad, Beijing, Hiroshima, Jerusalem, Lhasa, New York.

The symposium will provide Ellen Frank the opportunity to announce two new initiatives that Cities of Peace will soon be launching. The first, in collaboration with University of New Haven, will be a fall semester offering of the first college-based distance-learning course in Arts and International Peacebuilding. This for-credit course will pair U.S. students, artists, scholars and experts with their counterparts from around the world. The second initiative will be the Cities of Peace Global Ambassador Program, inviting those who are passionate about the mission and vision of Cities of Peace to immerse themselves in the history, traditions and culture of cities and countries where community comes together to learn, communicate and create a climate of peace, understanding, and collaboration.

To reserve a seat for the Symposium, click here.